Abhanga 38
English: This abhang is for the moment when the practice you've been attempting feels too hard — too elaborate, too demanding, too inaccessible. Tukaram's claim is that the easy path exists and works: name-chanting, following the tracks of those who came before, taking the leftovers gratefully. The "orphaned" — those without privileged access — are precisely whom Vitthal is for. If you have been trying to invent your spiritual life from scratch, the verse is permission to follow. The road is already walked; you are not the first.
The verse
वंदूं चरणरज सेवूं उष्टावळी । पूर्वकर्मा होळी करुनी सांडूं ॥१॥ अमुप हे गांठीं बांधूं भांडवल । अनाथा विठ्ठल आम्हां जोगा ॥ध्रु.॥ अवघे होती लाभ एका या चिंतनें । नामसंकीर्तनें गोविंदाच्या ॥२॥ जन्ममरणाच्या खुंटतील खेपा । होईल हा सोपा सिद्ध पंथ ॥३॥ गेले पुढें त्यांचा शोधीत मारग । चला जाऊं माग घेत आम्ही ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे घालूं जीवपणा चिरा । जाऊं त्या माहेरा निजाचिया ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: We will revere the foot-dust and eat the leftover-scraps; past karma we will make a bonfire of and discard. Endless capital we will tie up in our knot — Vitthal, deity-of-the-orphaned, is fitting for us. All gains come from one contemplation: the name-singing of Govinda. The cycles of birth-and-death will be cut off; this will become an easy, accomplished path. Searching for the road of those who went ahead — let us go, taking their tracks. Tuka says: let us throw a stone on selfhood and go to that maaher of the True Self.
मराठी: चरणरज वंदू, उष्टावळी सेवू; पूर्वकर्माची होळी करून टाकू. हे न संपणारं भांडवल गाठीला बांधू — अनाथांचा विठ्ठल आम्हाला जोगा. एका या चिंतनानेच — गोविंदाच्या नामसंकीर्तनाने — सर्व लाभ होतात. जन्म-मरणाचे फेरे संपतील; हा सोपा सिद्ध पंथ होईल. आधी जे गेले त्यांचा मार्ग शोधत — चला, त्यांच्या पाऊलखुणा घेऊन जाऊ. तुकाराम म्हणतात — जीवपणावर चिरा घालू, त्या निजाच्या माहेरी जाऊ.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वंदूं चरणरज सेवूं उष्टावळी | "we will revere the foot-dust, eat the leftover-scraps" (उष्टावळी = leftovers, eaten-scraps) |
| पूर्वकर्मा होळी करुनी सांडूं | "we will make a bonfire of past-karma and discard it" |
| अनाथा विठ्ठल आम्हां जोगा | "Vitthal is right for us, the orphans" (अनाथ = orphan, helpless) |
| नामसंकीर्तनें गोविंदाच्या | "by the name-singing of Govinda" |
| जन्ममरणाच्या खुंटतील खेपा | "the rounds of birth-and-death will be cut off" |
| होईल हा सोपा सिद्ध पंथ | "this will become an easy, accomplished path" |
| गेले पुढें त्यांचा शोधीत मारग | "those who went ahead — we follow their road" |
| जाऊं त्या माहेरा निजाचिया | "we will go to that maaher (parental home) of nij (true self / inner being)" |
What it means
The opening image is striking: चरणरज + उष्टावळी — foot-dust + eaten-leftovers. The bhakta is willing to take what would be considered most polluting in caste-purity terms (someone else's already-eaten food, someone else's foot-dust) as the most sacred offering, when those someones are the saints. The reversal is deliberate: warkari bhakti inverts the pure/impure hierarchy. [T] [Tradition]
The promise is सोपा सिद्ध पंथ — an easy accomplished path — through namasankirtan. The path is easy because it requires no special caste, gender, learning, ritual capacity — only the singing of the names. The "going ahead" of the previous saints (Namdev, Eknath, Jnaneshvar) means the path is already walked; the bhakta does not need to invent it. [Tradition]
For someone today
English: This abhang is for the moment when the practice you've been attempting feels too hard — too elaborate, too demanding, too inaccessible. Tukaram's claim is that the easy path exists and works: name-chanting, following the tracks of those who came before, taking the leftovers gratefully. The "orphaned" — those without privileged access — are precisely whom Vitthal is for. If you have been trying to invent your spiritual life from scratch, the verse is permission to follow. The road is already walked; you are not the first.
The closing — जीवपणा चिरा घालू, माहेरा निजाचिया जाऊ — throw a stone on selfhood, go to the maaher of the True Self — is structurally important. The path's destination is not somewhere new; it is home — the original ground, the place you came from. The going-home metaphor (maaher = a married woman's parental home) is bhakti's quiet claim: the True Self is not earned but returned-to.
मराठी: ही ओवी अशा क्षणासाठी जेव्हा तुमची साधना अवघड वाटत असेल — खूप उपकरणे, मागण्या, अप्रवेशनीय. तुकारामांचा दावा — सोपा मार्ग आहे आणि चालतो: नामसंकीर्तन, आधीच्या पाऊलखुणांवरून चालणं, उष्टावळीला कृतज्ञतेने स्वीकारणं. अनाथ — विशेषाधिकार नसलेले — हेच विठ्ठलाचे लोक. तुम्ही नवीन शोधत असाल — ओवी चालण्याची परवानगी आहे. रस्ता आधी चाललेला आहे; तुम्ही पहिले नाही.
शेवट — जीवपणा चिरा घालू, माहेरा निजाचिया जाऊ — रचनात्मकदृष्ट्या महत्त्वाचा. वाटेची मंजील नवीन ठिकाण नाही; घर आहे — मूळ जमीन, जिथून आलात ती जागा. घर-येणं हे रूपक — bhakti चा शांत दावा: खरा मी मिळवायचा नाही, परत यायचा आहे.
Where this applies
- When your practice feels too hard. Try the easy version. Tukaram says it works.
- When you feel orphaned by tradition. Vitthal is अनाथांचा. That's exactly his constituency.
- When you keep trying to invent the path. Stop. Follow tracks.